Paper presented at the Librarians’ Information Literacy (LILAC) Annual Conference, London, United Kingdom

1. Comparison of domestic & international students | What does their research process tell us about their information literacy skills? School of Information Studies McGill University Yusuke Ishimura & Joan C. Bartlett

2. CONTEXT OF THE STUDY April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 2

3. Information literacy1 “To be information literate, a person must be able to recognizewhen information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and useeffectively the needed information.” April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 3

4. International student population2 2.8x 1.5x April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 4

5. Top 5 countries of origin3 April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 5

6. Reasons for accepting international students4 April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 6

7. Research on international students5 April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 7

8. Differences between two groups < > = ? International Domestic April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 8

9. Academic libraries and international students6 Students Librarians Diverse experience Diverse expectations Library services Diverse needs April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 9

10. METHODS April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 10

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12. Participants in the study Undergraduate students taking 300-400 level courses Japanese students Born in Japan Japanese as first language Primarily educated in Japan Canadian students Raised in Canada English as first language Primarily educated in Canada April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 12

13. Research questions What are Japanese students’ information behaviours during their research tasks as compared to Canadian students? What factors (e.g., personal, social, and linguistic) are involved in information behaviour during the research task? What are their actual behaviours in relation to information literacy standards? What differences and similarities in behaviour exist between the two groups of students? April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 13

15. Educational

16. Linguistic

17. Personal

18. Psychological

19. Social Potential effects Corresponds with Outcomes Outcomes Outcomes Information literacy standards (Quality oriented) April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 14

20. Data collection April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 15

23. Reflection on meaningMaking flowchart Portfolio analysis Full analysis starts April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 16

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25. FINDINGS April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 18

26. Process overview Feedback Information needs Information seeking Information use Information needs Information seeking Information use April 20, 2011 Feedback Ishimura & Bartlett 19

27. Participant: J7

29. Participant: C7

31. Assignment Characteristics April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 24

32. Assigned topics “We got an assignment sheet [list of topics]. What I did first was read it. But most topics on the sheet had not been covered in class yet. So when I asked my friends, their reaction was ‘I don’t know these either!’ So, I quickly looked at the questions and thought about how to answer them. If I thought of something, I felt like I could write. So I could eliminate some topics this way.” J6 April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 25

36. Confirmation that all references to active webpages are working

37. Confirmation that the SJO contact name and contact information is correct

38. Return all copies of literature received with initial profile FINAL DRAFT (8%): DUE MARCH 29 Upload to Moodle REVISED profile as per comments by peer review editor and professor. April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 26

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40. Free topics cont. April 20, 2011 Participant: C5 Ishimura & Bartlett 28

41. Personal strategies April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 29

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43. Past experience Previous learning experience (e.g., high school, past classes) How to conduct research How to search for information How to cite information How to write research papers Previous library instruction In-person Online Good guidance from faculty on how to construct a paper April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 31

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46. Personal strategies Trial & error Developed own research style Don’t know what to do Too much focus on research process Found something new by chance Subject search on OPAC Subject guide Boolean operators and truncation Source preference Avoided using OPAC Databases Google (including Google Scholar) April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 34

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49. Others April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 37

50. Time management skills April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 38

51. More sources April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 39

52. Why more sources? “So the one way is to include only what you have to, and the other one is to include everything to show the research you did as a part of the grading thing. I am focusing on the paper. I feel like the paper should speak for itself. The bibliography is a formality at that point. So, yeah, both are, I think, normal at some point. I am really trying to imitate the article I read…. So this one only used 5 [sources]...” C2 April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 40

53. Help from others April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 41

54. April 20, 2011 Participant: J2 Ishimura & Bartlett 42

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57. Participant: C4

58. cont.

59. Students tended not to seek help from librarians . . . April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 47

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61. What are The differences? April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 49

62. Differences between the two groups Searching for information in Japanese to supplement English skills Slower process due to language barriers Some Japanese students showed relatively weaker research skills than Canadian students Where to search How to search Understanding of academic expectations (e.g., using outside sources and critical analysis) Domestic students’ behaviour has large impact on how Japanese students behave April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 50

63. New tools April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 51

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66. IMPLICATIONS April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 54

67. Implications for information literacy Need to help students develop a holistic picture of research process (e.g., time management demonstrated by students) Many students develop skills by themselves; need more active support from faculty and librarians Interaction between Japanese and Canadian students could positively affect information literacy skills development Interaction is NOT necessarily effective for information literacy skills development April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 55

68. Future needs Students expressed areas that they would like to change in future research tasks. For example, they would like to: Improve research skills(e.g., topic selection, search techniques, making research plans) Improve time management skills Ask librarians for help on assignments Spend more time on writing rather than doing research April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 56

69. Notes “Presidential committee on information literacy: Final report”, American Library Association, accessed April 1, 2011, http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm. “Opendoors online,” Institute of International Education, accessed April 1, 2011, http://opendoors.iienetwork.org; “A Changing Portrait of International Students in Canadian Universities,” Statistics Canada, accessed April 1, 2011, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-004-x/2010006/article/11405-eng.htm. Ibid. Jenny J. Lee and Charles Rice, “Welcome to America? International student perceptions of discrimination,” Higher Education 53, no. 3 (2007): 381-409; John Taylor, “Toward a strategy for internationalisation: Lessons and practice from four universities,” Journal of Studies in International Education 8, no. 2 (2004): 149-171. Ann Curry and Deborah Copeman, “Reference service to international students: A field stimulation research study,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 31, no. 5 (2005): 409-420; Yusuke Ishimura, Vivian Howard, and HaidarMoukdad, “Information literacy in academic libraries: Assessment of Japanese students’ needs for successful assignment completion in two Halifax universities,” Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 31, no. 1 (2008): 1-26. “Library services for international students,” Society of College, National and University Libraries, accessed April 1, 2011, www.sconul.ac.uk/groups/access/papers/international_students.pdf. April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 57

70. Questions? Contact: Yusuke Ishimura: yusuke.ishimura@mail.mcgill.ca April 20, 2011 Ishimura & Bartlett 58